Articles on Critical Thinking & Argument Mapping

Articles on Critical Thinking & Argument Mapping

– Alvarez, C., Does Philosophy improve Critical Thinking Skills? 2007. A meta-analysis of resarch on the effectivity of different methods to develop critical thinking skills. Click here for a map of the conclusions. For the meta-analysis itself click here ( see especially Chapter 5).

– Gelder, T. van, Bissett, M., Cumming, G., Cultivating Expertise in Informal Reasoning. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2004, 58:2. Research on the importance of ‘dedicated practice’ for the development of critical thinking skills.

– Mara Harrell (Carnegie Mellon University) is doing research into the influence of argument mapping on the development of critical thinking skills in her own practice as a lecturer philosophy at Carnegie Mellon. See her list of publications here.

A fascinating case study showing the importance of argument mapping, using Rationale. From the Abstract:

” It is unfortunate that so much turns on the practices of argument construction and critique in intelligence analysis, for example, because these practices are fraught with difficulty. However, the recently developed technique of argument mapping helps reasoners conduct these practices more thoroughly and insightfully, as can be shown in an extended illustration concerning Iraqi nuclear activities circa 2002.”

‘Many people reason poorly, by almost any measure of reasoning. Although there is evidence that people can be taught to think critically, educators don’t really know how. They don’t know what works, what doesn’t, or why. This report describes the Monash Critical Thinking Study – a three year project to investigate the effectiveness of a number of teaching methods for improving critical thinking.’